Hurricane Mindy (2021)
Hurricane Mindy was the strongest, most intense, and one of the deadliest tropical cyclones ever observed in the Atlantic basin, as well as the costliest natural disaster worldwide. Mindy was also the second-most intense tropical cyclone recorded in the Western Hemisphere, beaten only by Patricia of 2015. As the thirteenth named storm, fourth major hurricane, and second Category 5 of the hyperactive 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, the storm ravaged the southern Florida peninsula, including the city of Miami, and caused the near-complete destruction of New Orleans, Louisiana and its surrounding areas as it became the strongest tropical cyclone to ever affect the United States. Mindy first formed as a tropical depression on September 7, attaining tropical storm status the next day and hurricane status the day after. Over the next few days, the storm moved to the north of the Greater Antilles as a minimal hurricane. Mindy then rapidly intensified before passing over the northern islands of the Bahamas as a Category 4 storm in the early hours of September 13. It then made landfall as a 160 mph Category 5 hurricane almost directly over Miami, Florida later that day. As it exited Florida, the storm weakened into a minimal Category 4 in the Gulf of Mexico, but later explosively intensified back into a Category 5 under extremely favorable conditions as it turned northwards. Mindy then intensified into the strongest and most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded, reaching maximum sustained winds of 200 mph and a minimum central pressure of 876 millibars in the early hours of September 16. Later that same day, Mindy made landfall in Louisiana as an unprecedented 195 mph storm. The storm maintained tropical characteristics for a day afterward before dissipating on September 18 as it entered the northeastern United States. In Miami, damage from the storm was compared to that of Hurricane Andrew of 1992, which struck the same general area. The state of Louisiana, especially around the New Orleans area, saw an unprecedented degree of destruction as trees and cars were hurled into the air, high-rise buildings and other large structures suffered partial, and in some cases, total collapse, and the city's levees were virtually torn to shreds. Most of the city's structures were either completely destroyed or damaged beyond repair, and the city was left uninhabitable for months. The storm also brought a record-breaking storm surge of up to 40 feet to the coasts of Louisiana and Mississippi. Mindy kept considerable strength as it weakened inland, causing flash flooding, inland wind damage, and intense tornadoes, particularly in the states of Mississippi, Arkansas, and Tennessee. Overall, around 3,642 people died as a result of the storm, making Mindy the second deadliest natural disaster in US history following the 1900 Galveston hurricane. The storm was the costliest tropical cyclone ever recorded, with property damages totaling at least $365 billion (2021 USD), or around triple the previous record set by Hurricane Katrina of 2005 and Harvey of 2017. Emergency response teams were tested to their limits due to massive damage in both Florida and Louisiana, leading to widespread criticism and expanded international relief efforts. Many parts of New Orleans, as well as other nearby coastal areas, were left permanently abandoned in the wake of the extreme damage left behind by Mindy. Meteorological history The system that would become Hurricane Mindy was first observed as a tropical wave that emerged off the coast of Africa into the Atlantic Ocean on September 2. Over the next few days, thunderstorms associated with the wave gradually consolidated around a low-pressure area as the system continued to move towards the west; the National Hurricane Center began monitoring the system for tropical development. By 06:00 UTC on September 7, the disturbance had developed well-organized convection, prompting the NHC to begin issuing advisories on Potential Tropical Cyclone Fourteen. Twelve hours later, satellite observations found a closed center of circulation around the system, and the system was upgraded to a tropical depression. The newly-formed tropical cyclone developed into a tropical storm at 12:00 UTC the following day, thus receiving the name Mindy. Mindy gradually intensified as it entered more favorable conditions while beginning to track to the west-northwest, becoming a hurricane at 18:00 UTC on September 9 and reaching an initial peak intensity of 80 mph at 06:00 UTC on September 10. The storm then weakened slightly back to a strong tropical storm as it entered a small area of moderate to high wind shear the next day. The wind shear ahead of the storm then weakened dramatically, and Mindy began to undergo very rapid intensification, strengthening from a 70 mph tropical storm to a 125 mph Category 3 hurricane in 24 hours. As the storm intensified, Mindy began exhibiting annular characteristics and developed a well-defined eye as it started to aim towards the northern Bahamas and southern Florida. Despite its intensity, Mindy remained fairly small, with tropical storm-force winds extending only 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the eye of the storm. Mindy continued to intensify as it bore down on the Bahamas, passing over Eleuthera Island at 00:45 UTC and Chub Cay at 08:30 UTC on September 13 with winds of 150 mph (240 km/h). Intensification continued still, and Mindy became a Category 5 hurricane shortly after. After passing over the Bimini Islands, Hurricane Mindy made landfall near downtown Miami at 17:30 UTC with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph (260 km/h) and a central pressure of 924 millibars (27.29 inHg). After crossing southern Florida, Mindy underwent an eyewall replacement cycle, weakening to a Category 4 hurricane as it entered the Gulf of Mexico. At this point, Mindy began to develop a new eyewall a large portion of the Gulf that was experiencing near-record high SSTs approaching 32 °C (88 °F) and near-zero wind shear. As such, Mindy began a period of explosive deepening, strengthening from 130 mph to 185 mph in just 18 hours. Mindy greatly expanded in size and continued to intensify to historic proportions as it began to move north towards Louisiana, and at 06:00 UTC on September 16, Mindy attained a record-breaking peak intensity with winds of 200 mph (320 km/h) and a barometric pressure of 876 millibars (25.87 inHg). Now the strongest and most intense hurricane ever recorded in the basin, Mindy exhibited a donut-shaped ring of cloud tops ranging from -80 to -90°C and a near-perfectly circular eye at around the point of peak intensity as it began its final approach to the Gulf Coast. Finally, at around 15:20 UTC on the same day, Mindy made landfall near Grand Isle, Louisiana with winds of 195 mph (315 km/h) and a central pressure of 885 millibars (26.13 inHg), surpassing the record set by the 1935 Labor Day hurricane as the most powerful landfalling hurricane ever recorded on U.S. soil and tying with Typhoon Haiyan of 2013 as the strongest landfalling cyclone worldwide. Mindy then passed directly over New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain with winds approaching 180 mph. After entering Mississippi while still a Category 5, Mindy curved towards the northeast as it began to quickly weaken inland. The storm finally degenerated into a remnant low at 06:00 UTC on September 18 near the Kentucky/West Virginia border, with its remnants last distinguishable in the Appalachians of southern Pennsylvania twelve hours later, after which they were absorbed into a frontal boundary that later affected the Maritime provinces of Canada. Preparations Florida Louisiana and Gulf Coast Other areas Impact Florida and Bahamas Louisiana Mississippi Southeastern United States Aftermath Economic and environmental impacts Effects on New Orleans Government response + criticism Retirement On April 3, 2022, during the 44th session of the RA IV Hurricane Committee, the World Meteorological Organization retired the name Mindy due to the high death toll and the unprecedented amount of destruction caused by the storm. The name will never again be used for an Atlantic hurricane and will be replaced with Martha for the 2027 season.Category:Category 5 hurricanes Category:Atlantic hurricanes